The Weekender (7/24/20)
Welcome to the Democratic Governors Association’s Friday newsletter, The Weekender.
Let’s get started.
Missouri: On Tuesday, Daily Kos shifted their ranking of the Missouri gubernatorial race to be more competitive. Daily Kos is the fifth rating agency to downgrade the GOP advantage in the race, joining Sabato’s Crystal Ball, U.S. News & World Report, Cook Political Report, and Inside Elections. Last week, a Saint Louis University/YouGov poll showed Gov. Mike Parson and Democratic candidate Nicole Galloway in a statistical tie.
Montana: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov Mike Cooney slammed GOP candidate Greg Gianforte for his anti-public lands agenda – in front of a fishing spot on the East Gallatin River, which Gianforte sued Montanans to block access to. Gianforte has spent much of his short stint as a Montana resident working against public access, while Lt. Gov. Cooney has spent his life fighting to protect the Last Best Place.
Spineless Republican Governors Are Too Afraid to Say Publicly What They Tell Each Other Privately
The New York Times reported Republican governors are holding secret conference calls to “vent about the administration and the president’s erratic leadership.” How brave of them.
While Republican governors may be privately upset with the Trump administration’s disastrous handling of the pandemic, Democratic governors have actually been doing something about it. They’ve been publicly calling for state aid, PPE, medical supplies, and a national testing strategy from the federal government since the beginning of the pandemic, even when it resulted in insults and abuse from the president.
Republican governors, on the other hand, remain publicly committed to pleasing the president. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is suing the City of Atlanta for implementing a mask mandate, days after Democratic Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms pointed out Trump violated the city’s mask order. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu permitted Trump to plan a rally in his state, without any social distancing rules or mask requirements. And Missouri Gov. Mike Parson mocked the pandemic by telling Missourians that when children contract COVID-19 at school they’ll just “get over it,” and “if you want to wear a dang mask, wear a mask.”
Democratic governors are committed to doing whatever it takes to save lives. It’s time for Republican governors to stop being cowards and publicly stand up to the Trump administration, before it’s too late.
Democratic Governors Promote Mask Wearing While GOP Governors Put American Lives At Risk
In a New York Times op-ed, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer urged Americans to “be smart, be safe and mask up.” It’s an attitude she shares with all Democratic governors, who recognize the importance of mask-wearing and have all now instituted some form of a mask requirement in their states.
Democratic governors started instituting mask mandates as early as April, when Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont became the first governor to mandate masks statewide. A model from the University of Washington shows that near-universal mask-wearing could save tens of thousands of lives by Oct. 1.
But on the other side of the aisle, GOP governors are railing against science, public health guidance, and common sense:
- Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is suing the Mayor of Atlanta for mandating mask-wearing.
- Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said she won’t allow cities and localities to institute mask requirements.
- South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is convinced masks are not a “useful tool”.
- Missouri Gov. Mike Parson refuses to institute a mask order and doesn’t think he needs to wear a “dang mask” in public because when he gets something on him, he wipes it off.
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose state is running out of ICU beds, won’t require masks.
Scientists and public health experts have reached a consensus already – masks save lives, end of discussion. GOP governors and the Trump administration need to get on board with mandating and encouraging mask usage across the country – or more Americans will needlessly die.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on NBC’s Meet the Press, discussing why he implemented a mask requirement in his state and talking about why “the national testing scene is a complete disgrace.”
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on MSNBC Live with Katy Tur, demanding that President Trump remove federal troops from Portland. She slammed Trump for trying to cover up his failure to lead on COVID-19 with a show of force: “This was about scoring political points with his base.”
“For those who continue to defy basic decency and common sense because they refuse to wear a mask — either wear one or don’t go in the store. The refusal to wear a mask is selfish. It infringes on the life and liberty of everyone else in the store.”
- North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on why not wearing a mask infringes on the rights of others.
“We’re going to have cases that break out in schools, either with personnel or perhaps students, just like you do with a stomach bug or a flu or anything else.”
Who said it? Send your answer to press@dga.net and we’ll reveal the answer in the next Weekender!
If you guessed Missouri Gov. Mike Parson last week, you were right! Parson explained he doesn’t need to wear a mask because if he gets anything on him, “we try to clean it up as soon as possible.”